BHUBANESWAR: Union Minister of State for Home Affairs Nityanand Rai is on a three-day visit to the State as part of the public outreach exercise planned by the BJP to strengthen party’s organisational strength and electoral performance.
On his arrival here on Thursday, Rai proceeded to Angul, one of the seven Assembly segments under Dhenkanal parliamentary constituency, to take stock of the political situation and collect information on the organisational works.
"The Union Minister will cover all the seven Assembly segments, meet lavarthis (beneficiaries) of the welfare schemes of the Narendra Modi government and meet local and district functionaries of the party during his three-day visit to Dhenkanal Lok Sabha seat," said State BJP general secretary Lekhashree Samantsinghar.
Dhenkanal parliamentary constituency is one of the 144 Lok Sabha seats identified by the BJP central leadership to strengthen its presence. The saffron party lost this seat by a slender margin in the 2019 general elections.
Former Rajya Sabha MP Rudra Narayan Pani of BJP was defeated by BJD candidate Mahesh Sahoo by a margin of 35,412 votes. Sahoo won the seat with a vote share of 46 per cent while Pani secured 43 per cent of the valid votes. Former Union Minister KP Singhdeo of the Congress was way behind by securing only 7 per cent of the popular votes.
Though the State BJP leaders are reluctant to divulge the party's strategy for revival of its organisational strength in the Lok Sabha seats where it has fair chances to succeed, sources in the party said the central leadership has drawn up a detailed plan for bettering its performance in the identified weak Lok Sabha seats for the 2024 elections.
Rai's visit to Dhenkanal parliamentary constituency and his Ratri Pravas (night stay) is followed by two recent visits of Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan to different parts of the constituency. Rai is scheduled to meet residents of a slum (Ward No 11) of Angul town this evening who are beneficiaries of central welfare schemes and this will be followed by a meeting with district functionaries.